## (8) Other governmental efforts

### A. Promotion of urban redevelopment project

The Council for Promoting Zero-waste Cities in Tokyo Metropolis and the Council for Promoting Zero-waste Cities in the Keihanshin Metropolitan Areas have formulated a medium to long-term plan concerning the achievement of waste reduction targets, development of waste treatment/recycling facilities and the establishment of a reverse physical distribution system, and have been following up on the efforts every year, through means such as checking of the progress and consideration of new tasks, in order to realize the “Reconstruction to Create Zero-Waste Cities in the Metropolitan Areas” promoted as an urban redevelopment project. The Council for Promoting Zero-waste Cities in the Chubu Areas has been working for waste reduction, based on the medium to long-term plan formulated in FY 2006. In FY 2008, The Council for Promoting Zero-waste Cities in Tokyo Metropolis had been working with the aim to reduce the final disposal volume of waste to zero, based on the second medium to long term plan formulated during the previous fiscal year.

## B Promotion of the zero emission plan

Support was provided for advanced projects to develop recycling-related facilities toward realizing the establishment of a resource-recycling socio-economy in the local area, and Eco Town Plans of 26 regions throughout Japan were approved by the end of March 2009.

### C. Establishment of a reverse physical distribution

When considering transportation of wastes, recycled resources and products, it is anticipated that its quantity will increase, along with transport distances, due to the increase in items now subject to recycling and improvements in the recycling rate. Also, owing to the concentrated building of waste/recycling facilities and the formation of bases in the metropolitan areas, it will be necessary to create a distribution system to adequately respond to waste treatment such as additional recycling, implemented by cooperation among bases.

It was also mentioned in the “New Comprehensive Distribution Policy (2005 to 2009)” decided by the Cabinet in November 2005, that it is necessary to promote the construction of an effective reverse physical distribution system ensuring proper treatment and transportation, so as to work toward the establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society. Thus, support was provided for the reverse physical distribution project proposed during the Green Logistics Partnership Conference.

In order to realize a Sound Material-Cycle Society, ports that serve as bases for the reverse physical distribution system responding to the location of recycling facilities covering wide areas are specified as “integrated reverse physical distribution recycling hub ports (recycling ports)” (21 ports throughout Japan), and comprehensive support measures are implemented such as the promotion of private-public cooperation and the improvement of port facilities. In FY 2008, demonstration experiments for transporting recycled resources by ship via recycling ports had been carried out, and verification of the appropriate techniques to pack/handle the cargo and of the information management technology was conducted.

Also, construction of recycled resource treatment facilities such as buildings and facilities for interim storage by joint public-private ventures and other bodies was supported.

### D. Appropriate handling of wastes from agricultural production materials such as used agricultural plastics

In order to promote the appropriate treatment of wastes from agricultural production materials such as used agricultural plastics, cooperation among related groups was established, the treatment/reduction plan was formulated, verification of the introduction technologies of biodegradable plastic films was implemented at the level of prefectures and municipalities, and popularization/awareness activities were set up in order to increase demands for recycled products, at a nationwide level.

### E. Promoting the recycling of used FRP vessels (boats)

As for FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) vessels, supportive and cooperative actions were made through means such as the popularization and awareness concerning the “Recycling System for FRP Vessels” and project evaluation, in order to support the Japan Boating Industry Association in its efforts for the phased construction and operation of the “Recycling System for FRP Vessels” starting from November 2005, utilizing the wide-area recognition system based on the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law, in light of the recycling technology established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In FY 2008, actual operation of the abovementioned system has been launched throughout Japan, and approx. 750 FRP vessels have been recycled.

### F. Promotion of the proper treatment and recycling of used aerosol products

As for the used aerosol products disposed as garbage after consumer use, they have been causing fire accidents in collection vehicles during garbage collection at municipalities, explosion accidents during processing work at crushing facilities, and have been the source of recycling problems. In order to promote the proper treatment and recycling of these aerosol products, the municipalities and the product industry has worked in cooperation to popularize the necessity of disposing them as garbage after removing the filler with an appropriate tool, while the product industry worked to switch products to those equipped with devices that enable easy removal of the filler.

### G. Promotion of standardization

Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC), the standardization institute of our State, is working on the adjustment of environmental JIS, based on the “Environmental JIS Development Action Program” formulated in April 2002. In FY 2008, research/consideration of the environmental JIS utilization status in green purchasing by the local governments/businesses/consumers was implemented identifying the position of the environmental JIS among other environment-related laws, and tasks toward the further promotion of the environmental JIS utilization were extracted.